


dos, tres, cuatro

by frogmango



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, for better reading listen to por una cabeza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 09:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19809292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frogmango/pseuds/frogmango
Summary: A tango with Mika Kagehira is just about the last thing Tetora would have imagined himself doing on a Sunday afternoon, yet here he is.





	dos, tres, cuatro

**Author's Note:**

> my submission for team rarepair #2! please love tetomika

A tango with Mika Kagehira is just about the last thing Tetora would have imagined himself doing on a Sunday afternoon, yet here he is. When Anzu had asked him to participate, he had been positive she was making a mistake. 

_"A tango?" he repeated, his elbows propped on Anzu’s desk._

_Anzu barely looked up from her sketchbook as she nodded. "Sagami-sensei will be helping direct it," she says._

_"Okay, but why me?"_

_She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really?" she asked. "Have you seen yourself? You have the perfect looks and physique for Latin dancing."_

_He wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he chose to take it as a compliment._

_"Uh, okay… But when is it? There’ll be separate practice, right?" he asked. Then, a more pressing question crossed his mind._

_"Wait, who's going to be my partner? Don't tell me it's you, Anego!"_

_Anzu gave him a weary look. "I'm not an idol, Tetora. You'll be dancing with Kagehira." she said._

_Kagehira… The name rang a bell. Right. Wasn't that the shorter boy from Valkyrie? Tetora remembers him from that time with the chocolate-making… If that's also how his senior remembers him, then he's probably not made a very good impression, considering the disasters of that day._

_"Just the two of us? Isn't that kinda…" He fell silent. Intimate? Embarrassing? Mika was his senior, after all. It was going to be pretty weird dancing something like a tango with him, especially since they weren’t that well acquainted; Tetora could recall speaking to the older boy maybe twice._

_Anzu absentmindedly gave his hand a reassuring pat with her free one, the other still sketching. "You'll be fine. 2wink performs as a pair all the time, and Madara even acts solo," she said._

_"Why Kagehira, though?"_

_She stared at him exasperatedly. "Do you have something against the poor guy? I promise he's more scared of you than you are of him," she said dryly. "You two will make a good pair on stage."_

He still isn’t entirely sure about that last part. He and Mika make a strange duo for sure, and he can’t for the life of him fathom why Anzu would choose them. But back to the matter at hand...

"Why do I have to wear heels?"

Anzu rubs her temple. "They're not heels, Tetora. They're tango shoes. Typical to Latin dancing and necessary to make up the height difference between you and Kagehira." 

Okay, so maybe he’s a bit intimidated by the outfit, but could anyone really blame him? He's used to Ryuseitai's costumes - bright, vinyl, and not meant to be taken too seriously. This outfit, with its low-cut shirt and thick-heeled shoes, was very out of his comfort zone. And when he thinks about what Mika is going to be wearing, it just makes his nerves go even more haywire.

Anzu, either oblivious or uncaring to his anxiety, continues. "The song you'll be dancing to is called 'Por Una Cabeza'. It's fairly famous as a tango song, and its melody is dynamic while being simple enough for you two to pick up quickly," she explains. "Start by warming up, then we'll get to the steps."

Not for the first time since entering the practice room, Tetora sneaks a glance at Mika. He seems nervous. At least he's not the only one. Well, even if Mika is his senior, it’s a hero’s duty to comfort and reassure others. Maybe striking up a conversation will help both of them feel more at ease.

“Have you danced tango before, senpai?” Tetora asks, stretching his arms to the tips of his toes. Mika copies his movements, shaking his head. 

“Nah. It seems interestin’ an’ all, but it’s gonna be weird performin’ without Oshi-san,” he replies, doing a few more stretches. “An’ you don’t gotta call me senpai. It’s kinda weird ta hear, honestly; ‘m used to being the junior.”

Tetora nods slowly. “Alright, then… Kagehira-kun. I know I’m nothing like Itsuki-san, but I’ll do my best!” he says, bouncing on his feet. From across the room, Anzu claps her hands together.

“Alright, you two. We’ll start with the embrace. Stepping into the embrace is as much a part of the performance as the rest of the dance, so you’ll need to make sure you have it down perfectly. Tetora, you’re the Leader. Kagehira, you’re the Follower,” she says. “Tetora, start by raising your left arm, hand open, and then you wrap your right arm around Kagehira, holding him at his back just below the shoulder blades.”

Tetora steps forward. It’s strange to be the one at the lead when Mika is both older and taller than him, but if that’s what Anzu thinks is best, he won’t question it. He does as she instructed, raising his left arm high in the air and pulling Mika closer with his right in a sharp movement.

“Geez, kid, keep your pants on. You’re dancing, not trying to wrangle a bull.”

Sagami’s voice drawls loudly from where he’s leaning across the room. “Your arm’s too high, too,” he says. “If your partner were shorter, they wouldn’t be able to reach you.”

Tetora’s face flushes. Sheepishly, he lowers his arm slightly and loosens his grip on Mika’s back. “Sorry,” he sighs.

“It’s fine, it’s only the first attempt,” Anzu says, waving her hand dismissively. “Kagehira, it’s your turn. Raise your right arm to Tetora’s and take his hand. Your left arm should go around him and on his back, just like his is on yours.”

“Mm, like this?” Mika asks, pressing his palm to Tetora’s. From across the room, Anzu nods, and a pleased grin breaks through Mika’s face.

He looks up at Tetora, who looks away slightly, still embarrassed. There’s something strangely intense about Mika’s odd-colored eyes, something that reminds him a little bit of Shinobu, a little bit of Midori-- but not quite either. Whatever it may be, it makes him uncomfortable with holding the other’s gaze. He feels that, somehow, if he were to look into them for too long, Mika would be able to hear his every thought.

Including these. Which would be super weird. 

Snap out of it, Tetora. They’re both holding each other now, and Sagami seems to have no further complaints, so it’s time for them to begin the steps. 

Forward, forward, forward, to the right, and stop. Turn, then repeat. It’s simple enough, but coordinating his steps with Mika’s is proving to be a challenge.

“You’ve got the basics down, but you’re way too stiff,” Sagami says with a sigh. “This isn’t middle school prom night. Move as one person!”

Easier said than done. 

“Tetora, I think your movements are too sharp,” Anzu offers. “Try moving… more like a breeze?”

What was that supposed to mean?!

“She’s right. People think tango is this fiery dance, full of hot passion, or whatever,” Sagami adds. “But it’s more floaty.”

As one person… Like a breeze… Floaty… None of those expressions make sense to Tetora. Maybe he’s too used to Ryuseitai, where dramatic acrobatics bring flames to mind, but the idea of moving like air is foreign to him. 

Mika seems to sense his distress, because he’s giving Tetora a reassuring nod. “Yer overthinkin’ it,” he says. “Jus’ move like ya don’ weigh anythin’.”

Even though Tetora is supposed to be the lead, he lets himself be pulled by Mika. Forward, to the side, pause, repeat. Anzu and Sagami haven’t said anything else, so he must be improving, he thinks. 

Despite the fact that they’re moving more naturally now, Tetora senses a strange wall between him and Mika. There’s no… feeling behind their steps; it’s as if they’re simply following a script. Though that may be technically true, if there’s anything he’s learned from Ryuseitai, it’s that if you don’t believe the story, neither will the audience. So, he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and tries again.

Be one person. Who is Mika? How does he dance? What does he feel?

It doesn’t come together in one practice session, of course. But every time they dance together, with every conversation they have while stretching, with every smile they share when they pass each other in the halls now, Tetora feels he knows Mika a little bit better. 

Forward. Mika is honest and doesn’t feel the need to hide himself behind a mask. He lets himself be vulnerable, no matter who he’s in front of. Tetora wishes he could be that strong. It reminds him a bit of another senior of his who taught him a lesson in softness.

Right. Mika doesn’t stand for injustice. Not dramatically, the way Chiaki does, but with his own sense of fire. It makes sense, considering what he’s heard happened to Valkyrie last year. Where were the heroes then…? It makes Tetora’s blood boil-- and steels his resolve. 

Pause. But there’s a nervousness to Mika, a certain hesitation Tetora can’t quite place. He gets the feeling that they won’t be able to dance the type of tango that they need to until he can understand it.

And he won’t get anywhere if he doesn’t ask. “If you pretended I’m Itsuki-san, would that help?” he says, bending his knee further to the ground as Mika slides under him slightly. After stagnating in the basic steps, they’d moved on to some of the flashier moves, but their dance still lacked that floatiness Sagami and Anzu were insistent on.

“...No. I wanna dance with you, not ‘im,” Mika replies, sliding back out from under Tetora. Tetora’s face reddens slightly, and Mika frowns, as if realizing his words. “Well, yeah, but no, but-- ngah! Obviously, I wanna dance with ‘im. We’re Valkyrie. But this dance is... ours, y’know? It’s why I wanna get it right.” 

Tetora looks into Mika, and Mika looks back. Dozens of practices. Lunches they’d begun to share together under the pretense of discussing the tango, only to derail into any and every other topic. Their hands that had been clasped together for dance after dance, but only just now were clasped. 

“Let me try again.” Tetora says softly, pulling away; Mika nods. 

This time, as he wraps his fingers over the small of Mika’s back, he doesn’t do it like he’s trying to hold the other boy’s weight - he does it as if he’s connecting to an extension of himself. When Mika takes his hand, it’s the same sensation.

Become one person.

He’s not moving forward; he’s moving to Mika’s back. He’s not moving right; he’s moving to Mika’s left. 

A pause, right before the crescendo. Their faces are pressed so close together, their noses almost touch. Tetora knows that, with one small movement, he could kiss his senior like he so longs to. Like he’s wanted to for the past two weeks.

So he does.

He brushes his lips over Mika’s ever so briefly, a ghost - a breeze - of a touch that Mika could certainly feel but Sagami and Anzu wouldn’t see. Mismatched eyes meet his just as the song’s crescendo hits, and, as one, they begin to move.

Forward, forward, right. Their legs bend and they dip close to the ground, elbows locked and hands held far away from their bodies. They’re weightless, dancing as if gravity is but a myth until the last note of the song fades just as Tetora dips Mika low. 

“So that’s what it means ta’ float,” Mika says breathily, staring up at Tetora. Tetora gives him a nervous laugh, pulling him back up into a standing position. 

“Sorry! I- I got caught up in the moment! Just... forget about it, alright?” he replies sheepishly. He had been caught up in the moment, and okay, maybe he does have feelings, but he’s not about to touch on that when Sagami and Anzu are literally right there, and Jesus Christ they’re clapping. At least he did something right.

“...Why would I wanna forget?” Mika says with a playful smile. It’s then that Tetora notices that his senior has yet to let go of his hand. 

They share a knowing look, and Tetora untenses. They’ll have to talk after practice, that much is certain, but as far as the dance goes…

He gets the feeling they’re going to perform just fine.


End file.
